Austin jeweler Korbella purchases a portion of Eiffel Tower for special collection

Korbella jewelry purchases a portion of Eiffel Tower for collection

Forget chintzy replicas, one Austin jeweler has made it possible for you to have your own piece of the illustrious, glittering Eiffel Tower. Inspired by a particularly formative trip to Paris, Korbella founder and CEO Paul Michael Bedell made the bold decision to quit his day job as a financial services execute and "follow a yellow brick road," as he puts it.

Where that has led him today is to the helm of Korbella jewelry, a "fine fashion jewelry line" that recently released a limited-production collection made from the metal of a staircase that was removed from the Eiffel Tower in 1983 for safety reasons.

The metal was cut and polished into small round or square artifacts and framed in sterling silver, 18k gold vermeil or solid gold and set in five different styles.

On top of the Eiffel Tower collection's debut, Korbella has established its first physical store presence in downtown Austin's Second Street District.

"We are very excited about Austin's response to Korbella jewelry," Bedell wrote in an email to CultureMap. "Our Austin customers often purchase multiple pieces and we've already had the pleasure of being able to serve repeat customers."

Add it to your list of possible Mother's Day gifts, though the price for a piece of history isn't exactly cheap; prices range from $190 to $1,170.